Several Germantown Academy students are opening a new Esports club. This club is novel and unlike ones GA has seen before. Its leaders, Logan Shelton ‘28, Alex Hochhold ‘28 and Hendrick Liang ‘29, plan to play video games and organize competitions.
The initiative aims to turn a common hobby into a structured competitive environment. For the founders, the motivation was simple: bringing their passion for gaming onto the school stage.
“We all really like video games,” Hochhold said. “We wanted to find a way where we could incorporate that into the school day because we know a lot of people like video games, and because in school, you don’t always have access. This club will give you free time to play, strategize, or compete in a game that you really are passionate about.”
While many students play at home, the Esports club is designed to foster a sense of community that isn’t always present in solo play. The founders emphasized that this isn’t just about screen time; it’s about teamwork, spirit and strategy, and the club plans to host internal events to keep the group energy high.
“We’re planning to host mobile game tournaments, hopefully during some club meetings, such as Brawl Stars and Rocket League Sideswipe,” Shelton said. “The goal is to create a dedicated space where students can actually play in school and not get in trouble.”
GA won’t just be playing against each other. The club is officially joining the Pennsylvania Scholastic E-sports League (PSEL). The league provides a professional structure for high school gamers, mirroring the format of traditional varsity sports.
In this league, there are three seasons: fall, winter, spring, and the season lasts for a couple months. At the beginning, there is a ‘round robin,’ where schools play against each other. According to Shelton, the club is currently enrolled for Rocket League, and it’s focused on three vs. three gameplay.
The league records the schools’ wins and losses against other schools to determine a seeding for the playoffs at the end of the season. Then there’s a tournament-style playoffs at the end to determine the champion. However, the roster of games remains flexible. The founders plan to hold an interest meeting soon to see what other games students are passionate about.
Navigating the world of E-sports in a school environment requires specific boundaries. To ensure the club remains a positive and inclusive space that aligns with GA’s values, the team has implemented strict rules regarding game content.
“We’re not allowed to play Call of Duty or anything violent,” Jason Ma ‘28, a founding member, said. “No guns.”
Before officially creating the club, the leaders had some difficulty establishing it. They had to make sure that the club was approved by the GA House heads, and they were able to get a faculty advisor on board.
“We first introduced our idea to Dr. Friedman, who is thankfully our faculty advisor, and she took the idea well and told us to bring it up with our House Heads,” Shelton said. “So we talked to Ms. Bradley, and she talked with other House heads during Househead meetings. Eventually, after a lot of back and forth, the club got approved.”
The brand new E-sports club at GA will provide students the opportunity to pursue their passion in video games without any consequences. While the club plans to hold two introductory meetings this year to build momentum, the real competition begins next year when they officially enter the PSEL. Whether you’re a Grand Champion or just looking to improve your strategy, the E-sports club is ready to welcome all players to the GA arena.